Follow me on Twitter

Tag: Database

Following on from my previous post about how to healthcheck a CRM system, I wanted to share with you why I think people either love or hate their CRM systems. In most cases its not because one system is better than the other, though there are some systems that don’t fit the not for profit market, it is because users have either bought into the system and can see the benefits or they can’t.

I tell this story a lot but it is one of my most vivid memories of when I started working in the sector. I remember a member of staff, who in the run up to the London Marathon was struggling under the burden of paper that was printed out and then manually entered into the CRM system. It was taking about 3 out of the 5 days in the week to process this data. Now, this wasn’t because the CRM system was rubbish or even that the person didn’t know better, but more because the person who was spending their day wrapped up in paper wasn’t aware of the different things that their CRM system could do.

Now you are back in the swing of things, the January blues have faded and you are looking forward to your new goals for 2015, it is the perfect time to think about checking that your CRM system is in good shape to help you achieve your targets.

CRM systems need love, care and attention, if you are going to get the best from them and keep them accurate. This is essential to make it easy for all your staff to use, update and understand the data.

When I visit charities as part of my consultancy work I often find that their CRM systems are organic beasts. With changes in staff or business processes or sometimes both, over time, what used to be a lean and relevant system with clear procedures has become increasingly a long winded process that doesn’t easily meet the needs of the organisation’s current objectives.

Keith Collins, Systems Director said:’ Purple Vision are often called into help organisations with very specific data requirements, but any not for profit can improve the way they use their database by following very simple rules. We’ve come up with 5 top tips, and we hope they will help you manage your database more effectively.’ Purple Patch Group News | LinkedIn.

Share this:

Supporter 360 – As Profound as the iPhone? AppiChar, one of the fastest growing technology companies in the UK and Australia is about to launch supporter360, the complete supporter relationship management and fundraising system based on the Salesforce.com platform.

As part of the launch into the UK, appiChar are looking for 5 founding customers to work closely with and make sure the product is as amazing as possible. Already not-for-profit organisations in Australia are signing up to supporter360 and about to see the full benefit of fundraising on the world’s most powerful technology and relationship management platform.